Hamilton team advances to world contest for creative problem-solving

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, May 6, 2004

Phillip Wozny
, 13, jumps at the chance to do a little problem solving.

The Hamilton Middle School seventh-grader has been challenging his creativity and problem-solving skills since the third-grade as a Destination ImagiNation team member.

"It's a very fun experience," Phillip said. "It teaches you a lot about interacting with people, and it teaches you life skills."

After qualifying at the regional and state levels earlier this year, the Hamilton team will advance to the world competition May 26-29 in Knoxville, Tenn.

The event will mark the team's second time to reach this level. When Hamilton was there two years ago, that team earned second place.

"It's really great," said Bryan Gray, 13. "Everything we do in DI is our own ideas, so it's a great feeling when people who are older -- or people who are younger -- like what we do."

The international Destination ImagiNation program operates in 47 U.S. states and 15 countries.

Teams range from non-competing primaries in kindergarten through second-grade along with elementary, middle and high school teams and college-level competitors.

Participating teams select one of five possible team challenges. One end of the spectrum emphasizes technology; the other theater arts. The remaining choices are somewhere in the middle.

Most of these challenges call for completing the challenge and demonstrating the answer in a complete theatrical presentation with costumes, sets and props.

All of the challenges are designed to promote life skills such as teamwork, brainstorming and presentation.

One of this year's options, DestiNations In Time, asked teams to build their own timing device, perform some tasks on schedule and tell an international story that shows what could happen if they could be in charge of time.

Another event, GuessDImate, challenged teams to build a structure of wood and glue and estimate how many pounds of weight it can hold. The team would have to build and break a number of structures to get their guessing on target.

"This will help them in life-- just to be able to think creatively and out of the box," said Becky Sallade, co-coach. "DI tells you, if it doesn't specifically say it's against the rules, you can do it."

The Hamilton team usually opts for performing-related challenges, but this year it went for the improvisational challenge: Upbeat Improv.

The team had to research eight musical styles: opera, Celtic, Chinese classical, rock `n' roll, Alpine, Polynesian, Klezmer, East European Jewish folk music, and bossa nova, lively ballroom music similar to the samba.

The team was asked to narrow its list to six favorites.

During competition, a team representative rolls the dice to get two styles so the team can build instruments and perform.

Then they come up with a six-minute skit that uses original songs in those styles.

The team isn't done there. It also selects two random characteristics -- like happy or tired -- and incorporates them in the skit, and they create their own game.

The improv teams have a half-hour to make all of this happen.

"It's been a lot different than the problems we've done in the past, but it's less stressful because we don't have to build sets," said Kelsey Sallade,12.

Phillip said he wouldn't mind doing more improvisational challenges.

"It puts you in a position where you don't have a chance to mess up," he said. "It's just you and the audience, and nothing gets in the way."

Sallade and co-coach Mary Duhon know they can't contribute to the team's creative process in any way.

"It is all kid-done. We're kid managers, and we can't help them," Sallade said. "It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Sometimes Mary and I are there sitting on our hands because we think we have a great solution."